


The Camp Counselor AU No One Asked For

by lcvelylupin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Artist Remus Lupin, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Summer Camp, camp counselors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:45:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14196384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lcvelylupin/pseuds/lcvelylupin
Summary: Artsy camp counselor Remus has a crush on his coworker, Sirius. Both are smitten with one another. Of course, both of them are blind to that fact.Until they get the leading roles in the annual camp play.





	The Camp Counselor AU No One Asked For

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it.

Remus loved the summer and how the tension from the winter and frozen over limbs faded away. How kids’ hearts lifted to the skies when the final school bells rang out into the afternoon, and how their freckles smiled up at the sun. He loved the retired ladies and their husbands gardening together and how they smiled at him from under their hats. He loved girls in sundresses and sandals, laughing with flowers in their hair.

But there’s nothing he loved more than Camp Hogsmeade. He’d been going there ever since he was six, and when he was sixteen, he was finally able to apply to be a counselor. It was the best decision he ever made.

His friends James and Lily were also counselors, and Peter was still in training.

And then, there was Sirius. God, even thinking about him made Remus squirm and blush. The fact of the matter was, Remus had no interest in being friends with Sirius. He had other plans, and…intentions. And everyone but Sirius knew it.

Remus had had a crush on Sirius since the summer into eighth grade, when he first came to Hogsmeade. At first, only James, Lily and Peter knew, and luckily Lily was able to keep James’ mouth shut. Because James and Sirius were friends. The best of friends, actually, and they both gossiped like two ladies over tea.

Once he became counselor, everyone picked up on it, even the kids. They started sprinkling little drawings in Remus’ cabin. And started pretending to be tired so that Remus and Sirius could spend more time together by the fire. Remus pretended not to appreciate that.

They were the best moments. Remus loved that even if Sirius was a chatterbox throughout the day, he could be quiet too. He knew when the quiet was needed, or appropriate. He played his acoustic guitar to accompany the crackling fire, and the lightning bugs danced in his hair. Remus just glanced at Sirius’ fingers gently strumming frets, although watching Sirius’ fingers was not entirely the best of ideas. Anything was better than looking at his face, though. Then, he would know. Remus wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

Daylight always followed, and it was in plain sight that Sirius was most blind. They played games with the younger kids, and Sirius always seemed to feel the need to protect Remus’ honor. Remus always succeeded at kicking Sirius’ ass, without fail. Then, there was that time that Remus was doing face painting for carnival night, and Remus got to see Sirius’ eyes speckled with sunlight. Remus got to see Sirius’ eyes close shut, eyelashes quivering slightly when Remus touched his eyelids.

Remus was the artist out of all of the counselors, so he was always making banners and the sets for the yearly plays. He had become friends with a boy named Dean Thomas, and they both worked on them together and often went into discussions on artists and art supplies. His hands were often restless; he always itched to have a pencil or pen in his hands and he was rarely seen without a pencil behind his ear. It was a rare occasion if Remus’ hands weren’t sprinkled with dashes of marker and paint. He was always drawing on himself if he had forgotten his sketchbook. Although now, his portraits were all starting to look quite similar. Nobody asked who he was drawing anymore, and people often joked that Sirius was a lucky bloke, getting drawn all the time. Sometimes it wasn’t even his whole body anymore, it was the shape or shade of his eyes, or his hands as they moved up and down the guitar. Or his lips, as hard as Remus tried not to think about them.

“Earth to Remus,” James said, waving his hands in front of Remus’ eyes. “We’re here, mate.”

Remus snapped out of it and got out of the bus; it was always odd when they all first pulled in, since the kids didn’t start arriving till the next week. It felt like a ghost town while they prepared for everyone’s arrival.

He went straight for his cabin: Number 310. He started cleaning it up a bit, and proceeded to prepare his bed. There was always a rush of excitement as he thought of all of the new kids that would be in his group this year; or returning campers. They always rotated, and Remus always found himself with new friends by the end of every summer.

“Okay you sexy bastards, get to the rec room for your assignments!” crooned Marlene, the head of the counselors. Once he got there, Sirius was talking animatedly with Dorcas, and Remus pretended he wasn’t completely jealous; he wasn’t that desperate.

He wasn’t desperate, but he was desperate for Sirius. It was pitiful how his heart seemed to give him an encouraging tug. Before he could get his legs to return from their jelly like state, Sirius had already noticed him. And then he did that hair ruffle that he always does when he’s acting like he doesn’t know he’s attractive. God, what a massive prat.

But then he waves at Remus and takes out the ultimate weapon; his billion watt smile. The girls of the camp are starting to drop to the floor like flies. All of the counselors are watching their reunion like they’re in a bloody romantic comedy.

“Moony,” Sirius says warmly, eyes crinkling.

“Padfoot,” Remus focuses on his breathing, completely and totally ignoring the way Sirius’ breath fanned over his face. It smelled like his watermelon gum. “Joy to see you again.”

Remus had gotten the nickname from all of the times he had snuck out of the cabin at night. Usually to make out with his fling that summer, and that’s how Lily found out that he wasn’t necessarily the straightest crayon in the box. Sirius on the other hand, was obsessed with dogs. Remus thought he would buy a farm one day, and have twenty or so dogs running around. His parents were tired of accepting strays and rejoiced when he moved out. A house of course; he wouldn’t last in an apartment without animals.

“Likewise,” Sirius responded, seeming to get closer to him. Was the room getting smaller? “Ready to get your ass kicked during volleyball today?”

“You should be asking yourself that question,” Remus was smiling before he was aware of it. “I tower over the net.”

Sirius’ eyes flashed with mischief. “Feisty, Lupin. I like it.”

“Okay, lovebirds, break it up!” Marlene bustled into the room, pen placed carefully in her bun. She takes it out and immediately looks at her clipboard. She’s always this loud; after being a leader and working with kids, it’s kind of a requirement. No one dares to cross her when she’s mad.

She starts handing out copies of schedules, smiling especially bright at Dorcas. Bets are already being placed on when they’ll make the wedding announcement.

“Here you go, boys,” Marlene says when she gets to them both. “Always happy to see your lovely faces.” she always saves the suggestive smile for Remus. He just rolls his eyes at her.

Remus looked at his sheet. He smiled when he saw Fred and George’s names on his roster. They always knew how to make everyone laugh, but they could be a handful. Remus loved them both all the same. Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood, Marcus Flint…and Cedric Diggory.

And then he saw it. Marlene had placed him to watch over the archery activities for next week.

“Um, Marlene?” Remus inquired. Marlene looked back from her obligatory flirting session with Dorcas.

“Yes, Remmy dear?”

“I’m pretty sure you made a mistake.” he points to the paper. “Archery? You know I’m completely useless at that. Why not arts and crafts or, I don’t know, canoeing?”

Marlene ignored his suggestions. “Then maybe you should learn, Remus. Besides, you’ll be watching over everyone with Sirius. He’s an excellent shot, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to teach you how.”

There it was. That fucking knowing smile and devilish glint in her eye. Remus sighed.

___

The next week had come by in a flash. Sirius’ team suffered a brutal loss during volleyball. Remus was happy. Kids came in on buses, or were dropped off by their parents. Once they all got sorted into their cabins and unpacked, the fun began. Which meant archery. With Sirius.

Alice and James brought their groups over first.

“I see Marlene was kind with the pairings,” James said casually.

Remus rolled his eyes for the thousandth time that day. And it was only Monday. “Yeah. She’s super kind. A total sweetheart, that one.”

“Oh don’t pretend like little fourteen year old you’s not going fucking bonkers in there,” James lowered his voice, careful not to get “told on” by any of the other campers. He’d already lost quite a lot of change.

“He’s going bonkers in all the wrong ways. Anyway, aren’t you paired with Lily for swimming lessons?”

James smiled like a lovesick little puppy at the mention of her name. “Yeah, but I’m basking in the luck my friend, not dreading it. Attitude is everything,”

“Right. I’ll take your word for it, since you really know your way around women.” Remus shot back. “You know she did it on purpose.”

“Did what on purpose?” a cheery Sirius interrupts.

“Paired me up with you,” Remus replied honestly. “To torture me.”

Sirius laughed. “She picked the perfect person, then.”

They then decided to stare at each other for minutes that felt more like hours, until Sirius spoke again.

“Alright ladies, gents, people, enough chitchat. Unless you want to get an arrow in the foot.” Everyone quieted down. Sirius was The Kid Whisperer. Although Remus doubted he knew how to whisper.

“Counselor Remus here’s gonna show you exactly how it’s not done.” There was scattered laughter. Remus feigned offense. Then he grabbed a bow.

He took a shaky breath, poised the bow, drew his arm back, and shot. The arrow landed in the middle of the grass.

“Let’s help the poor sod out, shall we?” Sirius continued. He stepped behind Remus and Remus was sure his heart had stopped beating the second he touched him.

“Posture’s a bit off. Straighter.” Sirius placed his hands on Remus’ hips gently. The older kids whooped. Quite frankly, Remus couldn’t hear anything but the rustling of the fabric on his camp shirt.

“Right. Now, keep an eye on the target. Exactly where you want your arrow to go.”

“Line your arms up with the arrow,” Sirius guides his arm there. He was whispering something to himself, but Remus couldn’t hear it. He could feel it on his neck. “And make a straight shot. Don’t back out until your arrow’’s completely left the bow.”

Bull’s eye.

Everyone clapped. Remus was glad he still had his back to his audience; he was blushing like mad, and it wouldn’t be the last time. They had to do this for two shifts each day this week.

Remus cleared his throat.

“Okay everybody, Sirius and I’ll be around to help you get your bows into position. If you need any extra help…ask Sirius. He actually knows what he’s doing.”

Everyone laughed at that, and soon after, the kids formed three lines to shoot.

___

“Wow. He really can’t keep his hands off you,” Lily added during the fire, after the kids had gone to bed.

“It’s because I’m rubbish at archery.” Remus was intensely focused on his sketch of the cabin.

“Or maybe he just can’t help himself,” Lily corrected. “He likes you.”

Remus looked up at Lily. “Can you all give it a rest? He’s not interested.”

Lily looked right back, eyebrows raised. “Well, have you asked him?”

“No, but I’ve seen him. He’s got higher standards than some art nerd,” Remus smiled smugly. “Besides, you’ve got a thing for James. Just talk to him.”

“You’re making assumptions. I know you’re smarter than that. And I can’t talk to Potter. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing I’m attracted to him. It’ll do wonders for his already humongous ego.”

Remus laughed, preparing himself for what was to come. “You’re right, you don’t want to give him satisfaction. You want to give him more than that, all right.”

“Remus John Lupin!” Remus was nearly knocked out of his seat on the log. His stomach hurt from all the laughter. “I do not!”

“Okay, okay, you don’t,” Remus agreed, waving his arms. “If you tell James, I’ll tell Sirius.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “You’ll chicken out at the last minute and I’ll make a fool of myself. I know you.”

Remus sighed, because he knew she was right. “You know he’s head over heels for you. Why are you denying yourself this small happiness?”

“Why are you?” she fires back.

Remus stood up and started to put out the fire; it was starting to die out anyway. “Obviously this conversation is going nowhere, so I’m going to bed.”

“It’s because we’re too afraid of where the conversation will end up,” Lily put her hand on Remus’ bicep. Her hair glowed in the dying fire’s light. Her eyes, especially. “We’re afraid of it being a dead end.”

___

This year’s dance party was a masquerade ball theme. A casual masquerade ball, at that; nobody wanted to risk getting dresses and tuxes dirty. So they all dressed casually, but the kids and counselors alike made their own masks at arts and crafts the previous week.

Remus wanted to make a moon, at first. Then he realized it would be too obvious. Not that it mattered; his height would always give him away. He settled for making it “night” themed. The base color was navy. He added gold glitter to the gold paint around the eyes and two small rhinestones where the wings flared out. Then he added flecks of silver glitter to pose as stars. He was quite satisfied with it. James had made his fire themed with red, gold, and orange. The eyeholes were two flames turned on their sides, and when the lights dimmed down, he seemed to glow. (“Lily will come straight to me like a moth to the flame…or maybe she’s attracted to my heat and not my light…”)

He had no idea what Sirius had made his, but he had seen him working away on it. Remus guessed it would be something silly; he was pretty much unanimously voted as everyone’s favorite counselor and he thrived on laughter. That was great; now it would be like the fucking Phantom of the Opera.

Remus could not believe it when one of his favorite songs came on. A minute later, he realized that he could; Dorcas was in charge of music this year and they were always exchanging song recommendations from their playlists. She must’ve liked this one. He started dancing immediately, though he didn’t realize he was moving. Someone had joined him in his dancing, and he should’ve known who it was: he had seen every romantic comedy in existence and it was a pretty big cliche. But Remus was too focused on the beat and what lyric came next to really pay attention. He only laughed and danced along with the stranger, and in this moment he honestly could not have been happier.

“You’re so much better strange, so much better when you make mistakes with me…” He knew the song, then. Right. Remus would marry him immediately after the song finished.

Well, it seemed like their wedding song was next, because everything slowed down in the room. The smaller kids groaned and settled into little groups beside the dance floor to wait it out. All of the camp’s couples came out to dance, including Ginny and Luna, as well as Dean and Seamus. So it took less time for fifteen year olds to get together than twenty four year olds. Great.

Remus started to move to the side, but the stranger grabbed his hand and pulled him back. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Lily had agreed to a dance with James. He smiled to himself, and then looked at his dance partner. A sliver of black hair swooped over his mask, and Remus knew immediately. It was stupid how long it took him to figure it out; he spent most of his free time drawing Sirius. Again, it was one of their moments; Sirius didn’t even whisper, he just followed Remus through the song and even placed his head on Remus’ shoulder. The moment seemed to stretch, every single breath felt monumental and significant.

Remus was glad Sirius couldn’t hear his heart trying to overtake the bass. Remus wouldn’t believe that it was this easy. There had to be a catch, it had always been a chase to Remus. Feelings were complicated…but sometimes they really weren’t. Sirius was desperately trying, had been since they were fifteen. The more obvious it is, the harder it is to see, he supposed. Sirius wasn’t one to give up, though; it was one of his many golden attributes.

They were so busy with their minds on each other that they never realized they were the only couple on the dance floor, everyone simply watching the beauty for what it was. A symbol of the way they seemed to dance around their feelings and how they couldn’t seem to get in step.

___

It was finally time for the first play of the summer. Remus stayed up late obsessing over the details of the sets. Sirius was bursting out into one of his songs during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The kids loved dressing Lily up, and she actually had a lovely voice.

This year, the kids wanted to do a fairy tale. Rapunzel, to be more specific. Of course, Sirius got the role of Rapunzel, what with his ridiculous…soft…amazing hair and whatnot.

“Remus, please, please, please be the prince?” Ginny begged him during a particularly long hike.

“I told you, Ginny. I’m not an actor. I’d rather just be behind the scenes, thank you.”

“But how do you know? Nobody around here has seen you act. Ever.” Luna piped up from behind them.

“You’re always preaching about us trying new things and all that rubbish,” Pansy added, glaring at a kid who had snorted when she’d tripped over a tree root. “Why don’t you follow your own advice?”

“I can’t believe I’m getting bullied into this,” Remus said to Frank.

“Oh don’t be such a baby. It’s just a camp play, not Broadway.” Frank responded.

“Is anybody on my side?” Remus yelled overdramatically. Yep. Too much time around Sirius.

“Nope,” multiple people chorused.

“If all else fails, we’ll get Lily’s help.” Dean threatened.

“Fine, fine, I’ll be your bloody prince.” Remus agreed bitterly. Everyone else cheered.

___

It was hopeless: There was no way Remus was going to remember all these lines. Not when he had to practice with Sirius every evening after dinner looking the way he did. When Remus looked at him he could barely remember his own name.

“Don’t worry, Moons. You’ll pick this up in no time at all,”

“Easy for you to say, Drama Queen,” Remus half joked.

Sirius smiled with a hair tie in his mouth as he put up his hair in a bun. There was a twinkle in his eye. “I know what the problem is,”

Remus furrowed his eyebrows. “And what might that be, Padfoot?”

Sirius smiled again. Flirtatiously. All half lidded eyes and incredibly long lashes. “I’m a distraction.”

Remus put a hand up to his mouth and laughed, moving his head to the side to surreptitiously hide his blush. “Of course you are. You’re constantly drawing attention to yourself, what with-”

“What with what.” They were incredibly close to touching noses. Sirius’ eyes slowly traveled from Remus’ tangles of hair down to his lips.

“What with you being an immense prat,” Remus chuckled nervously, picking up his bag and clumsily putting his script in it. “Um, I-I gotta go. Curfew and all, y’know. The kids.”

Sirius nodded, a giant, smug smile on his face. “Right. Good night, Remus.”

Remus smiled at him. Genuinely, without blushing, which was quite the achievement. “Goodnight, Sirius.”

The screen door slammed closed behind him.

___

“Dude, you know this thing by heart,” James said.

“Frontwards,” chimed Fred.

“Backwards.” added George.

“Upside down,” agreed Peter.

Remus ignored them, looking at the line ahead of him to jump from the rock down to the lake.

“Guys, you’re forgetting that the guy can quote entire novels. In his sleep. Remember that time in tenth grade when he started reciting Romeo and Juliet while he was taking a nap?” Alice recounted, still impressed.

“What a nerd,” James commented affectionately. “My nerd.”

“I bet you he did it so that Sirius would help him,” Fred said. “Oh, what was that line again, Siri-poo?”

“Oh right, we need to make out now!” George laughed and proceeded to make sucking wet noises with his mouth.

Remus pushed George ahead of him in line and pushed him off the rock, George laughing even harder as he dived into the water below. Remus looked at the mock horror stricken faces staring back at him.

“Anyone else?” Remus challenged.

“You know it’s true, Remmy.”

And Remus threw Fred down the rock, too. Because he could.

___

It was finally time for the play. It was usually at the end of a stay, so that the the parents could see it too. Everyone set out blankets surrounding the amphitheater, and the kids that signed up for baking provided snacks. Luckily it was a warm, sunny summer day; The birds sang songs with Peter as he played on his acoustic. Everyone ran barefoot. Luna had made an excessive amount of flower crowns during arts and crafts and passed them out.

“Everyone settle down!” Marlene called. “All of you out in the field need to get back to your seats. The show is about to start!”

People scrambled and tiptoed around each other back to their places. A silent anticipation had settled upon their audience. Remus was behind the stage, itchy, sweaty, and nervous. He breathed all the way down to his stomach and tried his hardest to calm his shaking hands. He wasn’t used to being in front of an audience. It was true that the camp had helped him immensely with being socially confident. He really had no trouble starting and remaining comfortable in conversation, but this was different. There were people out there, and this wasn’t a conversation: they would be silent, looking at him, and Remus feared that he would forget how to fill in the silence.

But it would be okay.

“Moons.”

Remus jumped. “Christ, Pads. What?”

Lily had put Sirius’ hair in a braid and then added extensions. The owner of the camp, Molly, had come by done his makeup; she was always good at being subtle with it. His eyeliner was a perfect flick of the wrist, there was a soft touch of pink on his cheeks, and his face was contoured with a bit of a shine. His lips glittered a little, but according to others in the camp, he didn’t really need gloss; his lips were of an envious color.

A piece of art, all on his own.

“Get out of your head. Don’t think about it, yeah? Besides, we all know each other’s lines. We’ll help if need be, alright?”

Remus ran a hand through his hair and laughed humorlessly. “I think I remember everyone else’s lines better than my own.”

“Guys, five minutes!” Ginny hissed. “The sets are almost in place.”

Remus focused on breathing. He knew the script backwards, forwards, and upside down. Okay.

Sirius squeezed his hand reassuringly. Yeah, that helped immensely getting his heart to calm down.

Once it was time to go on, Sirius looked at him and mouthed: “Ready?”

Remus nodded his head slowly. “As I’ll ever be.”

Sirius flashed him a smile and went to his place on the other side of the wall. At least Remus didn’t have to go on for a few more scenes.

“Once upon a time, there was a princess…” Luna began narrating, her captivating voice hypnotising the audience.

Once it was time for Remus to go on though, everything really was fine. The world didn’t end. He didn’t give himself time to think, because the words came out him before he realized they were at his lips. Remus had a soothing voice that flowed along with his movements. He was the one who had the best reading voice; During Storybook Hour with the little ones, even the counselors began to doze off.

Before he knew it, it was time for The Scene.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your beautiful golden hair!” Remus shouted up to Sirius.

Pansy let down a rope covered in hair extensions, and Remus climbed up carefully.

“Aha, you fool!” Pansy exclaimed. “Your beloved Rapunzel is here no more!”

“What have you done with her!?” Remus shouted angrily.

“She’s gone, pretty prince…somewhere you may never find her!” she laughed evilly, and the crowd booed. And then she went back to the shadows, the hair “dying” and being pulled farther from the ground, but Remus - excuse him - Prince Charming, landed safely before she pulled it out of his reach.

“I’ll find her, I swear on my life!” the prince said dramatically to the audience, and everyone cheered him on.

The prince makes his way through the “woods,” gashes all over his body. He’s exhausted, begging for air, and for rest. But then, he hears crying. He follows the noise carefully, looking all around him for the source of the noise.

Eventually, he finds his dear love, dress tattered, face caked in dirt. She’s sitting in the corner, crying, her head down and body quivering. The prince runs to her desperately, and carries her out of the forest.

“I thought you’d never find me! I’d thought you’d forgotten!” Rapunzel cries, looking the prince in the eye with her own wild eyes.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, my love! In times of great peril, the heart always knows the way. We’ll make our way to the castle, and you shall be my wife!” Remus could see Sirius staring at him from the corner of his eye.

Sirius seemed to have forgotten his line, because he was silent. Remus looked at him, but before he could give Sirius his line, Sirius kissed him.

It was kind of an awkward position, because he was still holding Sirius bridal style. Instead of pulling away, Remus quickly set him down and dipped him. He didn’t think about this either. They just moved their mouths. That was all that really mattered. Sirius was all that Remus could think about and feel. They kissed to make up for lost time, and it had been a bloody long time, mind you.

The silence erupted into applause and cheers. That was when they realized what they had done. Both of them looked at their audience, terrified. Remus saved the day and hoisted Sirius back into an upward position, both of them holding hands and bowing.

“Effing finally!” James shouted, clapping like mad.

“My OTP is actually canon!” Hermione yelled - was she crying?

“Terrific acting, boys!” congratulated Marlene.

“That was no acting,” Dorcas replied. “Pure love, that was.”

Remus couldn’t remember a time where he had been this elated. He kissed Sirius again for good measure.


End file.
